The Nazi Olympics: African-American Athletes (Part 1)

Part 1 of 1.

Eighteen Black athletes represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics -- triple the number who had competed for the United States in the 1932 Los Angeles Games. African-Americans dominated the popular track and field events, and in the end, Black athletes brought home 14 medals, nearly one-fourth of the 56 medals awarded the U.S. team in all events.

Many American journalists hailed the victories of Jesse Owens and other Blacks as a blow to the Nazi myth of Aryan supremacy. However, the continuing social and economic discrimination the Black medalists faced upon returning home underscored the irony of their victory in racist Germany.

In this video, athlete John Woodruff, professor David Wiggins, professor Clayborne Carson, and author Jeremy Schaap reflect on the history of black athletes in American sports and the relevance of their achievements at the 1936 Olympics.

To learn more about the 1936 Olympics, visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Nazi
• Olympics
• Holocaust
• USHMM
• Owens
• Metcalfe
• Carson
• Schaap
• Wiggins
• Sports

[russianspiesx]

Thanks for uploading this! This is my heritage! I'm proud of my people! Gotta show this to the youth!

[juanchisgomez]

You guys have great videos. Long live the motherland (My mom was of African ancestry and my dad was half german)

[reymatt76]

It's so ironic, when I was in high school, the only German exchange student happened to be black. He and this white girl won "best body" in the yearbook. Actually, I don't know if that's irony, it's just funny how times change. This was in the early 1990s.

[ptbwf]

@daisyrios101

no it is racist because it was wrong for Germans to claim athletic superiority, but this Olympics created the RACIST notion that blacks are athletically superior, and that RACIST notion CONTINUES TODAY.

[2malucao]

viva a raca negra!!

[daisyrios101]

@USBorderGuard It's different because he was proud of winning this for his race, but not claiming that the Germans were inferior. That's exactly the opposite of what the Germans did, because anyone who WASN'T German was not as good ( according to them, anyway).

[USBorderGuard]

Clip 1:17 "For my RACE". So it is OK for Blacks but not for Aryans. Pah!

[najami12]

Google "Dr. Lewis Steiner" and see how blacks fought in the Confederacy's army!

[shussey100]

This is what it is all about. Thanks for uploading.

[iluvAUSandScooters]

you know at the time of 1944 hitler gave up racism and actullylet aricans join the german army during their campain through africa...weird isnt it

[UnblockedOne]

@jiggabooslayer

Calm down, calm down. All-time Olympic Games medal count: USA- 2549. Germany- 730